I Like me Better

Midnight into Morning Coffee

To be young and in love in New York City

To not know who I am but still know that I'm good long as you're here with me

To be drunk and in love in New York City

Midnight into morning coffee

Burning through the hours talking

Sitting out on the fire escape of your apartment, dangling your legs over the edge, you couldn't believe you'd even considered not moving to NYC for college. There had been so many doubts, so many questions. How would you be able to afford it? Living in one of the world's most expensive cities was not easy. How would you make friends? The city always seemed so busy, always bustling; with everyone in a rush. Would you be able to cope with the workload? Would you be able to be happy with yourself, who you'd become? But all those thoughts were pushed to the back of your head when you had first stepped off the train and into the very heart of the Big Apple. You had fallen in love with the atmosphere already. It was electric, the hubbub off officegoers around you, the yellow pops of colour from the bright cabs. The smell of hotdogs and brewed coffee wafted from street stalls as you walked through the streets, the light from the big screens reflecting the lovestruck look in your eyes. There was a permanent grin plastered on your face as you weaved through the crowds, nodding your head, smiling and saying hello to random strangers. This was truly the city where dreams came true.

You'd barely been able to contain the excited squeal when your apartment landlord finally handed you the keys and had left you to get settled in. As a struggling college student, you obviously hadn't been able to afford the best place to live in the massive city. Your apartment was small, you had to share a communal shower with 3 other people on your floor, and the walls were extremely thin, so you could hear the scurrying of mice almost all the time. But the view made up for all of it. A view of the streets below from your fire escape, the small cozy kitchen where you could bake to your heart's content. The slight smell of woodsmoke that would come wafting through when the 99c pizza shop a block away would be open. Most people would be confused as to how you would ever like the apartment, but in your eyes, you loved it because it was your home. You loved it because it was yours and yours only.

Halfway through moving all your stuff in, you heard a knock on your already open door. You put down your box, brushing down the dust from your shirt before walking out to the living room and to the front door. There was a young guy on your doorstep, looking around curiously.

Oh wow. He was cute. Warm brown eyes and curly hair to match the nervous smile he had on his face, he was wearing a plain blue sweater, the bottoms of a maroon checkered, collared shirt peeking from underneath. Earphones dangled down his front, he ran a hand through his hair, pushing back a stray curl. Judging by his looks, he looked to be the same age as you, maybe he went to the same university as you? Your landlord had said that a lot of residents in the building were college students.

"Hey. I heard some noises from my place, and thought I'd check it out" he said

Damn, you were probably being too loud.

Suddenly, you were hyper-aware of the state of your apartment and yourself. You were in your sweatpants and a really old yet comfortable t-shirt, all sweaty from lugging heavy boxes up and down the stairs (the elevator was out of order and hadn't been fixed yet). Your hair was in a ponytail, baby hairs sticking out in random directions, and your face was flushed. Your expression must've shown exactly how uncomfortable you felt because you saw the cute stranger's eyes widen before he opened his mouth.

"Oh no, sorry, that came out really wrong! I meant that our landlord told everyone on the floor that someone was going to be moving in earlier today as a heads up. I stopped by to ask if you needed some help moving some of your stuff in? I live next door and have nothing to do for the rest of the day, so I figured I'd help out." he shrugged, mouth tugging up in a small smile.